Brooding-house for chickens



(No Model.)

J. GRISCOM.

BROODING HOUSE FOR GHIGKBNS.

Patented June 2, 1885.

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lUNTTno STATT-s' ATTENT enrich@ JOHN eniscoM, or BROOKLYN, New Tonk.

BROODlNG-HOUSE FOR CHI'CKENS.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 319,23@l dated .Tune 2,18185.

Application filed April 2S, 1884. (No model.)

To a/ZZ whom it may concern:

Beit known that I, JOHN Gmscou, of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings andState of New York, have invented an Improvement in Breeding-Houses forChickens, of which the following is a specification.

The object of this invention is to facilitate the attendance uponthechickens, to give the chickens the necessary warmth and protection, andto promote their health and to allow for the capacity of 4thebrooding-house being enlarged to any desired extent.

In the drawings, Figure l is a sectional plan of a portion of thebrooding-house at the line w a, Fig. 2. Fig. 2 is a verticalsection ofthe same, and Fig. 3 is a section of the broeder in larger size.

Runs have been made for chickens upon the earth, and they have beenseparated one from another by partitions of wire-netting. Ditti-v cultyhas arisen in tending the chickens because it has been necessary tostoop down in feeding and handling them. Besides this, runs have beenkept at the same temperature, or nearly so, throughout. This isdetrimental to the chickens, because it is necessary to allow thechickens to be somewhat exposed to alcool temperature to harden them andfit them for the ordinary exposures. I make use of a building, say,about twenty-five feet wide and of any desired length. The back c shouldbe to the north, and the portion b of the roof is to be tightly closed.These parts are preferably of double thickness and filled in withnonconducting material. The part c is of glass, at an inclinationsimilar to the roof of a greenhouse. I make use, by preference, of traysor benches cl, about ve feet wide and running transversely to thebuilding, leaving a passage-way, c, running lengthwise of the building.Between the trays d there are passage ways f, ruiming from the backpassageway, c, to the partition g. This partition gis made close andtight up to the level of the fence a, and of glass above, extending upto the glass roof c. The bench or tray k, outside the partition g, iscomplete from end to end of the building, and it is closed at fw up tothe roof. The obj eet of this construction thus far described is, first,to allow the attendant to walk around three sides of the tables ortrays, and be able to reach conveniently half-way across either table inhandling the chickens on the table; and, second, to separate the tray 7cfrom the trays d, and allow the same to be exposed to the cold externalatmosphere, it being understood that the main building is heatedbyhot-water pipes or steam, as at m m, so as to be kept at a temperatureof about o Fahrenheit. The sashes at the portion c of the glass roof maybe opened during the day when the temperature is not too cold. The traysd are provided with rims or edges, so as to receive about five inchesdeep of sand or earth, and there are fences n a of wire-netting thatseparate the trays into runs for the chickens, there being by preferencefour runs on each table or tray, as shown. The fences n over the tray 7aare in line, or nearly so, with the fences n, and in the partition gthere are openings g, one for each run, so that the chickens can passthrough such openings freely, and the upper part of the partition'g ismovable, so as to give access from inside to the tray k. Upon this trayk, I'place about one inch of sand and about four inches of chaff. Thesebecome mixed up by the chickens when scratching, and I scatter upon thistray the food required for the chickens during the day. As a result ofVthis feature of my invention the chickens run through the opening inthe partition g upon the tray k in order to get their food, and the samebecomes so mixed with the sand and chaff that the chickens have toscratch to nd it. This compels the chickens to take exercise, and italso prevents overloading of the crop. by too much food. If the chickensbecome cold, their natural instinct will make them run back into thewarm house upon the tray d, and to increase the distance and insureexercise I place at the back end of the trays d broeders or warmers forthe chickens, each composed of a flat water-pan, p, raised up above theinclined bed q and heated by the water-chimney fr of the lamp s. Thesewaterpans for broeders have before been used. The inclined bed gis moreeasily cleaned than the flat beds heretofore used, and the broeder isbetter adapted to chickens of different sizes.

In broeders heretofore made it has been usual to employ a piece ofsheep-skin with the wool hanging down, beneath which the chickens huddleto obtain warmth. In. practice I find that the chickens become injuredby the accumulation of carbonic acid and other noxious gases from lackof necessary ventilation and circulation of the atmosphere. I rectifythis difficulty by placing a strip of wire-net ting at t along betweenthe back edge of the tray d and the under side of the brooder, so as toallow the air to circulate at this place, and also to enable theattendant to examine the nchickens and see that they are comfortable atnight without disturbing them. I also make separate shields for thechickens, composed of tassels of lamp-wick, sheep-skin, or similarmaterial, as at u, suspended below the watervessel. These allow for afree circulationof i 5 the atmosphere,which is promoted by the underside of the water-vessel beinginclined, so that the warmed air will riseand pass away. One or more of the chickens can nestle under cach ofthese tassels, and the chickens will not get too closely into one place,and thereby become suffocated,as sometimes occurs with the ordinarybrooders.

I have described this chickenhouse as made with wooden trays. The sameconvenience is obtained if the sides of the passage-ways are bricked upand the inclosure filled with earth up to the level of the respectiveruns.

I find it advantageous to feed the chickens on the table d, near thebrooders, in the latter part of the day, before they go to roost. Bymaking. use of tables with narrow long runs the attendant is able tocare for the chickens and insure exercise for them by running them fromend to end in feeding, which could not 3 be accomplished with broadruns. It is preferable to make the front pieces, w, movable, so as toopen them when it is desired to clean out the chaff and accumulationsupon the ta ble 7c. These front pieces may be hinged and secured bybuttons.

I claim as my invention- 1. The combination, in a brooding-house, ofraised trays d, separated to form passages f, and passages e, formedbetween the sides of the building and ends of trays with partitions gand trays la, the trays d and 7c communicating, as set forth.

2. The tray 7c, containing chaff and sand or similar loose material,adapted to receive the feed, and the tray d, in combination with thepartition g, separating the tray k from the tray d, and having openingsin such partition, the brooder at the inner end of the tray d, and theinclosing building and glass roof, the main portion of the buildingbeing provided with 55 means for artificial heating, substantially asand for the purposes set forth.

3. The combination, with the tray d and the inclined bed q, of abrooderhaving a hot-water Vessel with an inclined under surface, thetassel-shields, and the netting partition at t, as and for the purposesspecified.

4. The long tables or trays divided up longitudinally by fences intoruns for the chickens, in combination with broodcrs at the inner ends ofthe tables, a partition, g, with an opening in it, and an inclosedfeeding-place outside the partition,substantially as set forth.

Signed by me this 25th day of April, A. D. 1884.

JOHN GRISCOM.

Witnesses:

GEO. T. PINCKNEY, WILLIAM G. MoTT.

